Growing easy-care epiphytes

By CHARLES REYNOLDS The Ledger

Saturday

Feb 27, 2010 at 12:01 AM

Among the most common plants in tropical and subtropical America are bromeliads, with at least 1,400 species recognized by botanists. The majority are epiphytes, or tree-dwellers, though many exceptions exist, most notably the pineapple plant.

Representing the largest segment of the bromeliad family is Tillandsia. Southerners see Tillandsia plants every day because Spanish moss is one of the approximately 550 species. But don't let that revelation color your thoughts: Some species bear incredibly bright and abundant blossoms in shades of red, orange and coral.

Several of the easiest-to-cultivate bloom during the cool season and can be grown outside year-round, while others require occasional protection in the cooler months. Although a few of these bromeliads become quite large -- T. araujei has five-foot-long stems -- most are compact and manageable. Tillandsia stricta, from South America, is a small, cold-hardy, adaptable plant that blooms reliably in winter and spring and grows in full or part-day sun. This lovely, pink-flowered species can be fastened to trees or grown in orchid baskets filled with bark.

Equally engaging is Tillandsia ionantha, with purple-and-white flowers that emerge from reddish leaves in winter and spring. Identical in its requirements to T. stricta except that it performs best in bright shade, T. ionantha, from Mexico and Central America, is another great starter plant.

One of the smallest commonly cultivated Tillandsias is T. funckiana, a 6-inch-high Venezuelan species with orange-red flowers. At home in bright shade, this cold-hardy little charmer is grown on tree trunks and driftwood.

Not cold hardy, but among the most strikingly flowered Tillandsias, is T. cyanea, from Ecuador. Suitable for cultivation in baskets of bark, T. cyanea develops large, multibracted inflorescences that turn hot pink during the summer months.

Other cold-sensitive Tillandsias that must be sheltered during cool weather include T. dyeriana, duratii and "Belize Bulbosa."

Charles Reynolds is a member of the Garden Writers' Association

of America.

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